Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Patty's Day! I have a wonderful boozy dessert for you to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I originally wanted to do a series of boozy Irish recipes, but of course I was scrambling just to get this one recipe posted on the holiday!

When I was thinking of what dessert to make, I immediately thought of using Bailey's Irish Cream. Bailey's is probably my favorite Irish liquor. It's sweet, so it goes great with desserts and with girly drinks! So using Bailey's for this dessert was a no brainer.

I decided to combine two separate Bailey's dessert recipes, a cookie recipe and an ice cream recipe. Because the alcohol cooks out, the alcohol doesn't hit you in the face like you might think but it still has the flavor of the liquor. The Irish cream flavor in the cookies in very subtle, but is pronounced in the ice cream. The cookies and the ice cream go great together, but they're equally as wonderful on their own too!

I didn't make any changes to the recipes, except for a slight change in the cookies. I added one tablespoon each of light corn syrup and vegetable oil. This helps the cookies from getting too hard in the freezer, which is great if you want to make all the ice cream sandwiches ahead of time. The only thing I might try in the future is to leave out the white chocolate chips because I felt that it took away a little of the Bailey's flavor. The ice cream, I wouldn't alter at all because it was perfection... just maybe make a double batch!

These little sandwiches are great if you want to make for a St. Patty's celebration! The Bailey's give it a little something special for the holiday. Hope you enjoy and stay safe today!

Place cookies in the freezer overnight in a freezer bag so that they are easier to work with and won't break when you put the sandwiches together.

The next day, take out the ice cream and let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes (if the ice cream is soft, skip this step).

Take the cookies out of the freezer and assemble. Take one cookie and place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom of the cookie, then take another cookie and place the bottom of the cookie on top of the ice cream to make a sandwich. Slightly press the two sides of the sandwich together to adhere. Serve immediately.

If you plan on making the ice cream sandwiches all at once or to serve later, line a cookie tray with parchment paper and place in the freezer. Place each ice cream sandwich on the tray in the freezer once it is assembled, then continue to add each sandwich to the freezer once they are assembled. Once all the cookies are in the freezer, let them chill and set in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. Then you can individually wrap them in foil, place in a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer until ready to serve.

In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the liqueur to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the liqueur is reduced to about 1/2 cup, 5 to 7 minutes, and stirring constantly. The liqueur will appear thicker and slightly syrupy (it might also darken in color). Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

Bring the milk to a simmer in a medium heavy saucepan. Slowly beat the hot milk into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly. Mix in the reduced liqueur, cream, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in one or two batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least two hours. (For the ice cream sandwiches, make sure to freeze overnight-- the ice cream may not fully harden.)

In a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on high speed. Add the eggs on low speed, followed by the Irish cream, the light corn syrup, and the vegetable oil. (*Note: The corn syrup and the vegetable oil help prevent the cookies from hardening in the freezer, which is great if you want to make ahead of time. If you're assembling the sandwiches as you're serving, you can skip these ingredients.) Then slowly add the flour. Add the white chocolate chips.

Use a small scoop to portion out the cookies, about 1 heaping tablespoon. Chill for 15 minutes or overnight, then bake for 13-15 minutes.